Fury as judges set for huge £60,000 pay hikes while nurses and teachers get just three per cent bump

A report commissioned by ministers recommended a 32 per cent increase for High Court judges – taking their annual salaries from £181,500 to £240,000.

It's likely to cause fury for public sector workers who were forced to make do with three per cent rises in recent months, the Daily Mail reported.

The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) justified its report by claiming morale within the judiciary is low due to long and stressful hours.

It also said there is a need to compensate high earners for a series of tax changes to their pension schemes.

The recommendation comes just two weeks before the Budget, which could raise taxes for millions of ordinary workers.

In a letter, seen by the Mail, the review body said it "recommended the gross pay of a High Court judge should rise to £240,000, backdated to April 2018 – an increase of 32 per cent; that of a circuit judge to £165,000 – a 22 per cent increase; and that of a district judge to £117,000, an 8 per cent increase".

The aim is too boost "recruitment and retention of judges", according to the letter from the Ministry of Justice sent to Theresa May earlier this week.

If the recommendation goes ahead, the 97 High Court judges in England and Wales will get an extra £4,615 a week.

The MoJ confirmed the SSRB had formally told Mrs May that judges should get pay rises of up to 32 per cent.

The department said Justice Secretary David Gauke was "considering its recommendations" and hoped to "confirm the judicial pay award as a matter of priority".

A source close to Mr Gauke told the newspaper: "We are sympathetic to judges and are not saying we will not support a pay rise for them. But it is likely to be closer to 2 per cent than 32 per cent."